Breaing Bread (closed)

[Break the silence]

Closed to Orphans and Chroma
This is the quest
A Baker’s Dozen

Requirements: None.

Synopsis: Jackson the baker has reported his wares to be, for want of a better word, ‘missing.’ Somebody in the town is stealing his buns right from under his nose! Could it be nymphs, goblins, or something more sinister? You’ve been hired by the local constabulary and Jackson himself to get to the bottom of this granary conundrum. Your only lead is a hand print left in the flour in the mill, and a trail of crumbs leading to a crack in a wall on a small residential building nearby.

Reward: There is a reward of 100 gold coins if you solve the case; the constabulary have requested a human culprit be brought in alive, by any means necessary, but the hide or head or whatever beast or kin will suffice. If you manage to recover the stolen buns, Jackson has expressed he will make you the nicest cake imaginable


Dawn of the second day.
Chroma awoke before Dark. He turned to see a small amount of light shine through the window. Across the room Dark laid sprawled out in his bed. He turned his head slightly and saw Train curled up in a ball at Dark's feet. Both were breathing slowly, showing that they were asleep. Chroma sat up and got out of bed.

Dark's jacket hung lazily from the door nob, a small slip of paper sticking out of the front pocket. Chroma took a few steps towards the jacket, cringing as the floorboards creaked noisily. He extended his arm and pulled the slip out. He read it quickly. Jackson the baker has reported his wares to be, for want of a better word, ‘missing.’ Somebody in the town is stealing his buns right from under his nose!
at the bottom it stated the reward. There is a reward of 100 gold coins if you solve the case; the constabulary have requested a human culprit be brought in alive, by any means necessary, but the hide or head or whatever beast or kin will suffice. If you manage to recover the stolen buns, Jackson has expressed he will make you the nicest cake imaginable
Chroma licked his lips, cake sounded good. He heard a slight creak, and then Dark pounced on Chroma, sending both men to the floor. "Morning!" he said as he rolled off his chaperon.

Chroma hopped to his feet as well, "What was that for?" he asked stretching. Dark smiled and took both swords out from their hiding place and tossed one to Chroma. "After yesterday I realized we needed to be on guard. From now on we are armed at all times." Dark explained as he tossed a sheathed sword to Chroma.

The leather was a dark brown, almost black. A strap hung from it, which Chroma used to sling the sword over his shoulder. Dark did the same as well. Dark smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth. his long black hair covered his deep brown eyes, which twinkled with anticipation. Chroma grinned. If all went well Dark will have completed his good deed, and free from his debt. Not to mention Chroma would get a bonus.

The pair went to the bottom floor, where the tavern had been cleaned up after the ogre attack. The only remnant was a dark purple stain by the bar. The bar tender smiled at the two as they sat down. Dark ordered two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon. But when dark reached down to open his purse the bartender stopped him. "You kept the damage to a minimum during your fight, the meals are on me." he said in a gruff voice.

When the food came out Dark attacked it ravenously. Chroma ate quickly too, but savored the flavor. The eggs were fluffy and slightly sweet. Dark stopped him and added a pinch of salt and pepper. When Chroma resumed eating the meal tasted phenomenally better. After breakfast the two left for the Bakery. It was still early, and the streets were empty as they made their way down market street.

Once they reached the bakery they entered and smiled. "Hi we're here to help find your missing goods." Dark said in a slightly upbeat tone. "Exactly what was stolen?"

[orphans]

-curtsies politely- I will be playing the baker, Jackson, and his daughter, Willow.

The girl attending the front of the store was still yawning from staying up all night. The life of a baker was grueling at times, especially recently when her father refused to sleep unless she took watch. He was hell bent on catching the thieves himself, but alas, the bakery was his to upkeep with baked goods. So, Jackson the Master Baker, had put out a request for aid.

And one for each day that he received no response from the town guards.

The girl yawned once more, but the image and thought of her father battering the thief with his rolling pin while screaming the crime of desecrating his bread, was amusing enough to keep her awake as the door opened. In stepped two individuals, travelers it seemed, prompting her to automatically greet them with a tired smile. One of them was even rather attractive with his handsomely carved face, but alas, it was wasted as her eyes glazed over his finer details.

However, her hopes of a peaceful day was shattered as soon as one of them opened their mouth and asked with the words, “"Hi we're here to help find your missing goods. Exactly what was stolen?" The girl groaned and flattened her face onto the desk before her as her hands smoothed the bandanna covering her blond hair.

A sudden sound of pots and pans clattering on the floor made it seem as though the entire structure was about to collapse upon itself, as a few clouds of dust drifted down from the rafters. Within moments, Jackson burst out from the door behind his daughter, sending an explosion of flour after himself. Before the white powder had time to settle, the girl was already screaming, “FATHER!”

But the baker, just barely seven feet tall, strode towards the pair of gentlemen. Being covered from head to toe in flour, it was hard to see any other color besides white, but his hazel green eyes were burning with passion. Jackson grasped onto the shoulders of Dark and studied the man for a split second. With his drooping mustache quivering, it shook loose some flour as he bellowed out an answer. “MY PRECIOUS BUNS!”

His daughter snickered and mumbled out, “And his mind…” Lifting her face off the desk, she was met with her father’s baleful glare, which would have seemed much more threatening, if he didn’t have flour rising from him.

“Pay no attention to my Willow. She knows not the delicate ART, of baking bread. To shape and form each roll with your hands… to feel like a GOD!”

Rising, Willow took hold on her father’s arm and attempted to drag him away from the pair of travelers. “What he means, is a dozen or so plain rolls keep disappearing. We’d like someone to investigate for us.” With her reluctant father in tow, she called back to the pair, “I’d start with the guards that patrol around here.”

As if something just dawned on Jackson, he broke free from her daughter easily, sending her into the door of the kitchen with a scream while he barreled back and grabbed hold of Chroma this time. “I will have something to aid your search by noon time!”

“FATHER, you’re burning the bread in the ovens.”

If it had been possible to see through the white powder on his face, Jackson’s face drain and turned pale as he turned about and ran back to save his creations.

Obviously irritated, Willow emerged with a small bruise on her arm, her bandana thrown askew somewhere. “You’ll have to excuse father… he’s… well, him.”

[Chroma the lost]

Chroma and dark smiled at the young lady when suddenly a flour bomb burst in the back room. Before either knew what was happening, due to the fact that their vision was blocked, the girl was screaming something. "FATHER!" they realised. Before them stood a seven foot tall doughy collosus. It's green eyes shimmered passionately as it grasped Dark by both shoulders and roared. /then the two realized it was the baker. The roar had been something along the lines of "My buns."

The girl muttered something but neither Dark or Chroma could hear it. But Train snickered a little sly cat snicker. Apparently it was loud enough for the baker to hear. the stare she received would have been scary as hell had he not been covered in flour.

The girl had started dragging the Baker back to the back room, calling out that they should check with the guards first. Then the giant of a man bolted back free of his daughter and grabbed Chroma and roared. "We will find your buns ma'am don't worry" Dark said as they left. Chroma's sound sensors played back the message for his brain as they left. "I'm guessing he's going to make us something." Chroma said shrugging.

...

The two found the guard station. Where they also found Jaliss, who smiled and pointed them in the right direction.

[orphans]

-curtsies again- I will also be playing other npcs.

When Chroma and Dark reached the guard who was in charge of the pending investigation, he stopped them with a raised hand. “Let me finish this paper work first gentlemen.” It was unclear whether or not the guard actually realized he had company, or he had done it out of reflex, but after a few minutes, he shuffled the papers together and looked up.

His expression turned from confusion to a slight annoyance at the pair. They didn’t look at all like junior guards reporting for duty nor did they look like normal citizens of Underwood to report a theft or vandalism. “Yes? How can I help you?”

The pair looked to one another before Chroma spoke up first. “We were sent to investigate for the baker.”

The guardsman groaned and placed his head onto the desk. The situation was well known to him as Jackson would come by daily in the morning, before the guards even woke, to check on the status. Picking himself up again, the man picked up a neat stack of papers and set them in front of Chroma and Dark. “Have a seat.”

They shrugged to one another and sat down. The guard behind the desk took a deep breath and then began. “About a week ago, Jackson has had bread stolen from his store. He claims it’s always the same kind of bread at the same time every night when they sleep and just one loaf. Problem is, when they watch the bread baskets, it’s safe for that one night.” Standing up, he pulled down a map of the town from overhead. “Still following me?”

Chroma and Dark nodded.

Pointing at the bakery, he continued, “We’ve found a trail of crumbs that lead into this house here.” He drew a circle with the pointer around a small residential housing unit nearby the bakery. “Problem is that house has been abandoned for years. The crack in the wall where the crumbs disappear to isn’t even large enough for the bread loaf to fit through.”

“Are there crumbs inside the house?” Dark asked with a raised hand.

“No. That’s the part I don’t understand.” Collapsing down into his chair again with a defeated sigh, he looked to the pair before him. “I’d check for Guardsman Brian out back. The district around the bakery is like the back of his hand.”